Tours, Tickets, and Together at Last

Hello from England! It's Emily (The Blonde) again, and I am finally reunited with my partner in completely legal activities, Nicole! I've been in England for 3 days now and I want to give you all a little update on everywhere we've been in that short amount of time. We are both very active people and we always seem to be on the go, trying to make the most of our time here.

Nicole picked me up from Heathrow Airport at 6:30 in the morning and I took my first trip on the London Underground back to Highbury, where her grandparents live. Her granddad picked us up at the station and drove us to the house. In case I had been dreaming before, the left hand traffic definitely convinced me that I was really in the UK!

After moving in and hanging out for a bit, we decided to go explore London so I wouldn't fall asleep. We wandered through the markets at Covent Gardens and saw the famous Trafalgar Square. We also stopped by the National Portrait Gallery to admire famous Brits. Nicole satisfied her inner history major with portraits of the Tudors and I enjoyed seeing portraits of Shakespeare and Sidney. 

Then we decided to go find a library bar we had seen on Pinterest called Scarfes Bar. We had to wait about an hour for it to open, but the wait was definitely worth it. The inside was dimly lit and the walls were lined with books, although we didn't see anyone reading them like we had thought.
We sat in two comfy armchairs and proceeded to be overwhelmed with a very intense drink menu, most of which we didn't know what it was because they had such clever names. However, we took a risk and ordered the fanciest drinks of our lives. Nicole's even came with a bird's nest on top, a reference to an Alfred Hitchcock movie. It was quite the treat for our first night together.

The next day, we hopped on a charter bus for our one-day tour to Leeds Castle, Dover, and Canterbury. The convenience factor of transportation was a big plus, since it meant we could get to see them all in one day without all the hassle. Leeds Castle was built in the 12th century by the Normans, and it certainly changed hands and appearances many times between then and today. It was home to six medieval queens, including Eleanor of Castile; members of the Tudor dynasty such as Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon; private owners who transformed it into a Jacobean and then a Georgian mansion; and finally a woman named Lady Baillie who opened it to the public. History lesson aside, we loved exploring all the various styles of rooms from over the years. With the added plus of a free sample of mead, the castle was also a great way to get out of the insane wind and misty rain. Eventually though, we did go back outside and take some up-close pictures with swans who were enjoying the rain a lot more than we were. 

Our tour provided us with a packed lunch so we could keep moving on to the Cliffs of Dover. Luckily, the weather cleared up a bit so we could get pictures from the top of the cliffs instead of down on the beach, but there wouldn't have been time because we still had to get to Canterbury. It was cool to look up at Churchill's bunker embedded in the cliff from WWII. 

We had two hours in Canterbury to see the cathedral and spend some time in the charming little town. This was probably the highlight for me, because I'm a big fan of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and I felt like a pilgrim following in the steps of centuries of pilgrims before me. In fact, I followed literally in their steps when I knelt down on the extremely worn steps the way they would have walked up the steps on their knees. We also saw the altar where St. Thomas Becket was martyred, but his tomb is no longer there since Henry VIII ordered it removed. One of the volunteers at the Cathedral took us downstairs to the crypt to show us where the tomb used to be, and gave us a lot of interesting information until a priest told him he was being too loud. Oops :) 

After this very adventure-packed day, we decided to visit only one place on Thursday- Windsor Castle. You think that it would have been a lot simpler, but in fact, we had several logistical hiccups, thanks to our good friend Nate Reyes. He's staying in London right now as well, and we decided it would be a fun idea to meet up and spend some time together. So he bought the train tickets online and told us he would meet us at the tube station in the morning. Well, he arrived ten minutes before our train was supposed to depart, but we couldn't find any wifi so that he could pull up his email and get the confirmation code for the tickets. He tried asking customer service but they couldn't help, and ten minutes after our train had left, he wandered off in search of better wifi while we settled in Starbucks for coffee. Fortunately, he did eventually get the tickets and they were still good for a different time, so we were able to make it to Windsor. Moral of the story- sometimes a little planning ahead is better than spontaneity. 

Windsor castle was quite spectacular, inside and out, and the three of us were thoroughly impressed. I loved the fact that it is still used by Queen Elizabeth II and her guests to this day. We were fortunate to be able to see many of the state rooms that are closed during the summer when she holds events there. Our audio guides were very informative, and told us a lot about the fire that happened in 1992 and the extensive restoration process that had to happen afterwards. It was a very well-maintained castle filled with amazing works of art and lavish furnishings. I wish we could post some pictures for you, but unfortunately photography was not allowed inside. 

We were also very impressed by St. George's Chapel, in which many famous monarchs and figures were buried, including Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, Charles I, George III, George V and his wife, George VI and his wife, and Princess Margaret. It was really amazing to recognize these names from history and see the place where they were buried. 

Anyways, sorry if I was a bit wordy, but I hope you enjoy the pictures. I'm having such a great time with Nicole, and I'll let her tell you about our weekend trip to Scotland! 

The Blonde